We survived two birthdays while in lock-down! April and May brought our kids to the nice round ages of 10 and 12. Although it was probably a little disappointing for them both to be without any celebrations with friends, I would like to hope that we were able to make each a little special.
For both kids, Mike and I took the days off from work and told the kids they could pick the meals ALL DAY and activities that we did could be led by them (within reason of course).
APRIL – Hayden’s Birthday
Hayden selected Dunkin Donuts for breakfast which we followed up with a Zoom call to open presents with Grandmas and Grandpas. After that, we spent the day building his robot and lounging in the pool. Violet got Hayden a remote control car that goes in the pool too – so that was super fun.
Instead of a cake, Hayden asked to go to Bahama Buck’s for shaved ice (which is the best shaved ice ever). We biked there, ordered our delicious drinks and then sat outside as a family and enjoyed them. Mmm. Talking about it just wants me to go back. When we have company again someday, we definitely need to take you to Bahama Buck’s.
Hayden asked for baked potatoes for lunch and then we had Grubstak for dinner. They even allowed me to make a special request for his favorite meal (which isn’t being offered during covid-19 times) and then they added in a sticker for him for his birthday. I even was able to purchase 5 lbs of flour that we hadn’t been able to find anywhere. We love Grubstak!
In general, it was a pretty low-key, enjoyable but relaxing day.
MAY – Violet’s Birthday
Two days ago was Violet’s 12th birthday. We started out with breakfast burritos from the Burrito Company. Mike took the opportunity to go biking up in Tempe by where he works so he could pick up burritos. They are so yummy. And cheap.
Once we were through with breakfast, we all got on our bikes and headed out on a scavenger hunt for signs throughout the neighborhood and surrounding areas! It took us about an hour and a half to get to all of the stops and about 5 miles(ish) round trip. From Mike and I, Violet got Animal Crossings for their Nintendo Switch as a gift – but she had to figure out the code using the scavenger hunt. It was worth it.
After that, we opened up the rest of her presents and then worked on her cake! She and I baked it and then we all played video games while it cooled. I then did the base frosting and wrote the letters, and Hayden and Violet added additional decorations. She opted for a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. We’ll finish the entire cake today.
She and Mike made pizza from scratch for lunch and I picked up sushi (from the grocery store!). We ended up having those again for lunch yesterday because we had too much food. She requested Jimmy John’s for dinner.
Just another wonderful day spent with the kids.
Hopefully next year we can try this again, but with friends and family.
